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Global AIDS crisis gets first-ever global awareness campaign

Joint campaign from UNICEF and Clear Channel Outdoor will appear in 50 countries

Johannesburg, London, New York, 27 October 2005 – Clear Channel Outdoor and UNICEF today launched the first-ever global outdoor advertising campaign to raise awareness of the enormous impact of HIV/AIDS on children. At simultaneous events in Johannesburg, London and New York celebrities joined representatives of the two organizations to unveil a powerful image depicting a young child standing by her parents’ graves. The campaign will be seen on billboards and other outdoor displays in 50 countries around the world.

The creative resulted from a worldwide competition that received a tremendous response from the world’s advertising agencies. The winning creative, by Bester Burke, an agency in Cape Town, South Africa, was chosen from over 300 entries. The campaign will debut globally starting in November.

“Children are disproportionately impacted by the HIV/AIDS pandemic,” said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman. “They are watching their hopes and dreams crumble as parents, teachers, caregivers and role models succumb to AIDS. And children still see only a fraction of the resources dedicated to fight the disease. The Clear Channel Outdoor partnership will help make the public aware that, children are the missing face of AIDS.”

“Outdoor displays are extraordinarily effective at grabbing people's attention and delivering information that people retain,” said Paul Meyer, global president of Clear Channel Outdoor. “We can think of no better way to use the world's only true global outdoor network than to partner with UNICEF in this important work.”

The creative was unveiled in New York by UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors Sir Roger Moore and Whoopi Goldberg along with Kami, the HIV-positive Muppet who appears regularly on the South African co-production of Sesame Street called Takalani Sesame. In London the campaign was launched by Lord Puttnam, UNICEF U.K. president and Lord Richard Attenborough, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. And in Johannesburg, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, South Africa’s legendary musical sensation, helped kick off the campaign across Africa. All of the participating artists are passionate about the urgent need to alert the world to the fact that children are missing from the global AIDS agenda. .

To a large and unacceptable degree, children are missing from global awareness, budgets, and action on HIV/AIDS. They are missing services, care, support, and knowledge.

Fewer than 5 percent of HIV-positive children have access to treatment they need.

Less than 10 percent of children who have lost parents to AIDS get public support or care.

Only 10 percent of pregnant women have access to services that can prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

While important gains have been made in global funding for HIV/AIDS, children remain dangerously underserved. As long as this continues, the number of children infected, killed, orphaned, and left vulnerable due to AIDS will continue rising.

About Clear Channel OutdoorClear Channel Outdoor, based in Phoenix, Ariz., is a global leader in outdoor advertising with over 800,000 displays in more than 50 countries across 6 continents.

In the United States, the company operates over 164,000 advertising displays and has a major presence in 42 U.S. markets. It manages over 60% of the spectacular displays in Times Square and approximately 45,000 taxi displays in 25 major U.S. markets. The Company also provides the advertising programs in more than 200 U.S. malls, as well as over 200 international retail centers. Clear Channel Outdoor also provides advertising displays in 15 major U.S. airports and 44 international airports.

Channel Outdoor is a division of Clear Channel Communications, Inc. (NYSE: CCU), a global leader in the gone-from-home advertising industry. More information may be found by visiting www.clearchanneloutdoor.com and www.clearchannel.com.

About UNICEFFor nearly 60 years UNICEF has been the world’s leader for children, working on the ground in 157 countries to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for poor countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.